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Cheap Audio Interfaces - Dual Track Live Recording

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  • 09-01-2008 11:26am
    #1
    AlanD
    Registered Users Posts: 1,495 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I know I'm all questions, but sometimes a lot of the information I'm looking for is so spread out and opinion based that it can be difficult to assess the real pro's and con's of a particular piece of equipment.

    Well something I discovered yesterday while looking up USB/Firewire Audio Interfaces that fit in to my small enough budget, is that a lot of them won't record more than one track at a time. The real problem is, I can't find on the specs of any piece of equipment how many simultaneous live tracks it can manage.

    My requirements are simple, a couple of mic inputs, a midi input and that's about it. In a home recording situation I can do one track at a time, but when I perform, I want to be able to record my live sessions too.

    My budget was going to stretch to a 300 euro Presonus Firebox, but have read good and bad things about it. Some of the bad things are probably in comparison to high end equipment. But now I can't figure out if it will record multi tracks at once.

    Will I get this with your typical cheap audio interface?


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    #2
    Niall - Dahlia
    Registered Users Posts: 820 ✭✭✭Niall - Dahlia


    AlanD wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Well something I discovered yesterday while looking up USB/Firewire Audio Interfaces that fit in to my small enough budget, is that a lot of them won't record more than one track at a time. The real problem is, I can't find on the specs of any piece of equipment how many simultaneous live tracks it can manage.

    If you read the sticky I wrote (http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055136974) it has over 10 interfaces listed that can record multiple inputs.
    AlanD wrote: »
    My budget was going to stretch to a 300 euro Presonus Firebox, but have read good and bad things about it. Some of the bad things are probably in comparison to high end equipment. But now I can't figure out if it will record multi tracks at once.

    Yes, it will recording multiple tracks at once. It can record 2 line/mic level signals at the same time.

    As for the bad things you've heard compared to high end equipment...well, that's to be expected. You get what you pay for. If you buy an Epiphone you're not getting a Gibson. What you're paying for in audio interfaces are the preamps and the AD/DA convertors (Analogue to Digital). You can pay thousands for a SINGLE channel pro pre-amp and thousands again for a SINGLE channel of pro AD/DA. You're paying 300 for TWO of BOTH. Will there be a difference? Of course. You just have to try to get the best your budget can allow for. I'm almost sure we have a few Firebox users around here, first hand accounts of the unit will tell you alot more than the manufacturers specs.


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    #3
    AlanD
    Registered Users Posts: 1,495 ✭✭✭AlanD


    thanks, appreciate that....

    I'm on information overload at the moment, so some perspective is always welcome.


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